Every four years, the biggest sporting competition in the world comes around, the FIFA World Cup.
Millions of people around the world will tune into the tournament, this time being held in Qatar.
The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930, hosted and won by Uruguay who are two-time champions since its creation.
France are the current holders of the World Cup having won the tournament in Russia in 2018. They defeated Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win their second world title as a nation.
Kyllian Mbappe grabbed headlines throughout the tournament, winning the Young Player of the Tournament award. He scored four goals, two behind Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, and became the youngest French goal scorer in World Cup history at 19 years of age.
Brazil is the most successful country having won the FIFA World Cup five times, their last victory coming in 2002.
Germany and Italy are the next most decorated nations with four wins each. Germany will go into the 2022 World Cup with hopes of tying Brazil’s record while Italy will be watching the tournament from home having failed to have qualified.
With the World Cup 2022 just around the corner there are a number of the usual nations topping the odds for bringing home the trophy.
Brazil
They are the most successful nation in FIFA World Cup history and come into this competition as favorites. They have had a long history of producing some of the most exciting footballers in the world; Pele, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Cafu and now Neymar is their main man.
Neymar has excited fans for years, and now being 30 years old it seems it will be the last time we could see him at a World Cup tournament. Neymar has been a wildly exciting player to watch throughout his career, while also being one of the most marketable players in the world.
He has many sponsorship deals, from sportswear to car manufacturers and many more. He is even a huge online poker fan, this is largely due to iGaming platforms that have grown their online presence significantly in the last few years to take advantage of the surging popularity in poker games. Not only is he the face of many brands of poker, but an ambassador for companies like Puma.
Players like Vinicius Jr, currently at Real Madrid, are showing there are always stars being brought through ready to continue Brazil’s proud tradition in the tournament.
While attacking skill has always been linked to Brazilian football, their defensive displays have been outstanding where they conceded just five goals in 17 qualifying games, scoring 40.
France
The holders have one of the most enviable team sheets there ever has been. Kyllian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Antoinne Griezmann are just a few of the star forwards, while Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga are two young stars at the heart of the Real Madrid midfield as well as the national team.
While off the field issues continue to circle the group the quality on the field is likely to shine through. With the quality head coach Didier Deschamps has at his disposal will make them a team very hard to beat.
Argentina
When you have Lionel Messi on the team, they have one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Having played 164 times for his country, Messi has 90 goals which is the most of any South American footballer at international level.
He became the youngest Argentine to play and score for his nation in the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany and will now play in his fourth World Cup for Argentina.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has an exciting team around him who qualified unbeaten from the South American qualifiers.
Argentine stars fill Europe’s top leagues and top clubs, while they also only conceded eight times in their qualifying campaign. An improved defence, exciting forwards and one of the greatest players in the world make them a tough side to go up against.
Like with Neymar, this will be Messi’s last World Cup as he’s now 35 years old. The nation and his teammates will do all they can to ensure Messi retires with a World Cup win to his name to go alongside a vast collection of club trophies and individual awards.
England
As the runners up in the European Championships, losing to Italy on penalties last year, England are looking to compete with the best once again.
Injuries are ravaging the squad, losing some key players like Reece James and Ben Chilwell, but manager Gareth Southgate has some world class talent to call on.
Harry Kane was the Golden Boot winner in Russia 2018 and will lead the team once again this year.
Performances recently though have given limited hope amongst fans and a change in urgency and cohesion on the pitch will be vital to compete past the group stages this year.
While there are favorites, the pressure of a World Cup knockout game can provide excitement and upsets meaning every team will go into the tournament with hopes of overachieving expectations.
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